ONALASKA, Wis.—Austin Braund has been itching to hunt deer ever since he was knee high to a grasshopper.

Thanks to Wisconsin’s new Mentored Hunting Program, the 10-year-old Town of Onalaska youngster got his wish during a special youth deer hunt two weeks ago. Austin also shot a magnificent 11-point buck.

“Austin is floating pretty high right now,” said Scott Braund, who mentored his son during the two-day special hunt in mid-October. Wisconsin hunters previously had to be at least 12 years old and pass a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources hunter safety course before hunting. That changed this fall and Austin couldn’t be happier.

Scott and Debbie Braund have two children, 14-year-old Ashley, and Austin. Scott, who works for Pepsi-Cola Bottling of La Crosse, said Ashley went turkey hunting the last two spring seasons, but refuses to hunt deer.

That’s not the case with Austin, who has tagged along with his dad ever since he was three years old.

“Give him a pair of binoculars and Austin is totally content and satisfied,” Scott said. “He goes out with me every chance he can. We put up a lot of buddy ladder stands and use a lot of ground blinds, too.”

While Austin has enjoyed watching deer several years, he couldn’t hunt until two weeks ago. Scott said Austin hunted on private land near Galesville on Oct. 10. He and Austin saw a couple of does that morning, but couldn’t return to the woods that evening because of Austin’s football game.

The next day was well worth the wait. Austin shot his first buck about 5 p.m.

Scott said they were hunting from a ground blind tucked next to hay and soybean fields. Five does with fawns stood 40 yards from the blind. One of the does walked within 10 yards. Scott said Austin was going to shoot the deer, but an eight-point buck came out of the woods, grunted and all of the does ran away.

Austin, who was shooting a .44 caliber Ruger rifle he borrowed from a neighbor, practiced from 75 yards. The buck was 80 yards away, according to Scott’s range finder.

“The buck ran off and Austin was shaking pretty well with adrenaline,” Scott said.

A few more does walked through the soybean field and then three bucks—a fork horn, six-pointer and the mammoth 11-pointer.

“We waited until the big one stopped,” Scott said. “Austin had a good rest with his tripod stand to hold the rifle. I told him to keep the crosshairs on the buck.”

Austin’s 53-yard shot hit the deer right behind the front shoulder taking out both lungs. The deer ran only 20 yards before dropping dead.

“Austin was out of his seat and almost out of the blind,” Scott said. “I told him we had to cautiously walk up to it, but I think he wanted to walk up and tackle it.”

Scott field-dressed the buck, saying he won’t allow his son to use a hunting knife yet. They plan to have a shoulder mount made of the big deer.

Obviously, both father and son are thrilled with the new Mentored Hunting Program, which allows only one weapon between the two. Mentors are not allowed to hunt, but they may carry weapons for their young hunters.

“I like the program as long as you get the right people involved,” Scott said. “You need the right person to do the mentoring, someone who has been hunting for several years.”

Scott said he wouldn’t have allowed his 10-year-old boy to hunt if he didn’t feel comfortable about Austin knowing about gun safety, how to handle a gun, or the ways deer move and react. He also had to be certain his son was a proficient shooter before participating in the hunt.

“With Austin going with me and all the other things about guns and safety, I knew he was ready,” Scott said. “Now, you have a kid hooked for life.”

Austin is also an advocate of the new DNR program. He said he feels real lucky to be able to hunt at 10 and is looking forward to taking hunter safety education class. However, Austin said he has already learned two important rules.

“Be patient and be safe,” he said.

Austin couldn’t decide what was more exciting, walking up to the deer or shooting it.

“I just took the advice from my dad,” he said. “I didn’t help him field-dress it, but I helped him drag it out.”

Austin said he enjoyed the entire experience from watching deer to shooting one.

“And getting out with Dad is fun and stuff,” said the fifth grade student at Viking Elementary School in Holmen.

“We like eating deer, too. I like jerky the best,” he said.

Scott said the deer weighed 235 pounds and field-dressed out at 185 to 190 pounds. Austin weighs only 110 pounds.

“Two teachers at my school said it was big and nice and stuff,” said Austin, who plans to tag along with his father during bow hunting season.

“The landowner where we hunt said once Austin becomes 12 years old he can go bow hunting. He believes he is a little too young for that yet,” Scott said, adding that Austin is practicing hard to improve his archery skills.

WISCONSIN MENTORED HUNTING PROGRAM

People age 10 or older, born on or after Jan. 1, 1973, may obtain a hunting license and hunt without having to first take hunter education, provided they and a mentor comply with all of the following requirements:

Rules that apply to the hunter

— Must be at least 10 years old.

— Must have the appropriate valid hunting license, permits and tags.

— May only hunt while within arms reach of a mentor regardless of the hunter’s age or the mentor’s age.

— Must follow all other hunting laws, seasons and bag limits.

— 10 and 11 year olds may only hunt under these mentorship rules, even if they already completed hunter education.

Rules that apply to the mentor

— Must be at least 18 years old.

— If born on or after Jan. 1, 1973, must be a hunter education course graduate, or have completed basic training with the U.S. Armed Forces.

— Must be the hunter’s parent or guardian, or have the permission of the hunter’s parent or guardian before acting as a mentor for a person under age 18.

— Must have a current year’s hunting license. (Type of hunting license does not matter for the mentor, unless they will also be attempting to harvest game, in which case they must have the appropriate valid hunting license, permits and tags for species they are hunting).

— Only allowed to serve as a mentor for one hunter at a time if the hunter is either age 10 or 11, or was born on or after Jan. 1, 1973, and has not yet taken and passed a hunter education course.

Rules that apply to both hunter and mentor

— Only one firearm, bow or crossbow (if eligible for a crossbow permit) can be possessed jointly between the hunter and the mentor.

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